Portugal's E-Lar energy aid program favors middle class over poorest families

The Portuguese E‑Lar scheme allocated more than €66 million to help households replace gas‑powered appliances with electric ones. While the programme was originally designed to split funding equally between vulnerable families receiving the social energy tariff and other applicants, the final distribution was heavily weighted toward the middle class. About €42.2 million (64 %) went to middle‑income households, whereas only €23.7 million (36 %) reached the most vulnerable families.

A total of 52,940 vouchers were issued, of which 16,203 were used by social‑tariff beneficiaries and 36,737 by other applicants. The Ministry of Environment and Energy recorded 39,590 rejected applications, many due to incomplete submissions or tax‑status issues. The programme also covered installation and removal costs for the new equipment, with subsidies ranging from €50 to €738 per unit.